What Cheese Pairs Best with the Last Word Cocktail?

Quick take: pair a Last Word cocktail with a Bouton de Culotte cheese

In our cheese + cocktail pairing project, I’m combining my cocktail know-how with the encyclopedic cheese knowledge of Jennifer Greco of Chez Loulou. We’re delivering a series of classic cocktail and cheese pairings.  

Our December Pairing: Last Word Cocktail + Bouton de Culotte Cheese

Bouton de Culotte cheese

Notes, discoveries and tips worth sharing:

  • In addition to the Bouton de Coulotte, the next best pairings were the Couronne de Touraine and Berger Basque. Other runner-ups that might not be first choice, but weren’t bad: Tome des Bauges, Comté 12 months, and a Regalis bleu cheese.
  • Some others we tried that weren’t quote up to the task: Emmental, Mont d’or, Chaource, Comté 40 months, Trou de Cou, Camembert, St Marcellin, and Cabrion Lyonnais.
  • As with any cocktails that incorporate citrus, I like to double strain my citrus juice before adding it to the shaker to remove pulp, rather than double straining the cocktail after. This keeps the juice to cocktail proportions more accurate.
  • The Last Word is an equal parts cocktail with some very specific ingredients including Maraschino, green Chartreuse and lime juice in addition to the gin. There is not a lot of room for variation with those, but we did try it with a couple of different gins (Tanqueray and Citadelle.) Though I normally go for a pretty straightforward London Dry for a Last Word cocktail, both of us slightly preferred the Citadelle.
  • Being an equal parts cocktail, this is easy to make in small to large formats. Just use equal parts of each ingredient, shake up and serve as individual or multiple cocktails.
  • Though not every goat cheese worked with the cocktail, I think we might be learning that chevre works well with cocktails that have citrus.
Trying out the Last Word with Tanqueray and Citadelle

Last Word

20ml Luxardo Maraschino

20ml Citadelle gin

20ml lime juice (freshly squeezed and straigned)

20ml green Chartreuse

Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass

If you’re here I already know you like cocktails. But, if you want to learn more about these or other cheeses, I recommend some time on Jennifer’s blog and Instagram or signing up for one of her cheese workshops with Paris by Mouth.

Up next month: What Cheese to Pair with a Martini?

 

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